Car Free Day (2)

Leonie Cooper: I am pleased you have introduced plans for street closures on World Car Free Day. When will details be published on which streets are to be closed for the day?

The Mayor: The footprint for the central London event can be seen on london.gov.uk/reimagine.
The Traffic Management Plans supporting the event footprint detailing specific road closures are in development. Following approval from all authorities, the plans will be shared week commencing 19 August on the Transport for London (TfL) travel information page for the event. We are also working with impacted key stakeholders directly through a dedicated business and resident team.
A number of boroughs are also developing plans for Car Free Day. Once boroughs make these plans available to TfL, it will publish details of these online too.

Car Free Day (3)

Leonie Cooper: Do you have any plans for traffic reduction or mitigation on TfL roads on World Car Free Day?

The Mayor: We do. I am hosting the ‘Reimagine’ event which involves the closure of over 20km of roads in City of London, Southwark and Tower Hamlets. At least six boroughs are planning Car Free Day events too.
Transport for London is managing the impact of the road closures through their Network Management Control Centre. They will monitor displaced traffic and mitigate impact to bus services throughout the day. Bus routes will run through the Reimagine event in both directions, along Bishopsgate and London Bridge.
Visitors to Car Free Day events will be encouraged to travel by public transport, walk or cycle.

Cultural Needs of Minority Communities (2)

Andrew Boff: To what extent should Hackney Council take into account the cultural needs of minority communities in the implementation of CS1?

The Mayor: Local authorities are subject to legal duties under the Equality Act 2010 including a duty to have ‘due regard’ to the impacts of their activities on protected equality groups. In practice, this means public authorities must consider the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations as they go about their business.
Please see Mayor's Question 2019/14293 for further information on the assessment of equalities impacts for CS1 and Mayor's Question 2019/14292 for further information on Transport for London’s approach more generally.

25 bus and the Hopper fare

Andrew Dismore: Reducing the 25 bus route from Oxford Circus to Holborn is making it harder for travellers from East London to get to the West End. Experience shows that travellers who get one before Mile End do not benefit from the hopper fare, and in effect are paying twice for the same journey, as it is more than an hour before they tap in on the 25 bus, then tap in again for the next bus to take them on to Oxford Circus. What do you plan to do about this to ensure a fair fare?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) took the decision to shorten route 25 as the number of customers using the service was declining, and in response to recommendations to reduce the number of buses using Oxford Street.
I realise that this change has resulted in a small number of customers now changing onto routes 8 or 521 to continue their journeys beyond Holborn. In situations where this has happened outside of one hour, this has meant customers have paid twice for journeys that could previously have been completed on route 25.
I am committed to ensuring that travel in London is affordable, and I am pleased to tell you that since 15th June2019 TfL has been refunding passengers whose journeys take longer than an hour before they change from route 25 onto routes 8 or 521. TfL will review this arrangement after 12 months.

Cultural needs of minority communities

Andrew Boff: To what extent should TfL take into account the cultural needs of minority communities?

The Mayor: As a public sector body, Transport for London (TfL) has a duty to consider the impact of its decisions on groups protected under equalities legislation. To do this it uses a number of methodologies and a robust evidence base. TfL engages with minority communities both during consultation and more generally, and uses Equality Impact Assessments (EqIAs) to risk-assess the potential negative impacts of its decisions and take steps where possible to mitigate these. The discharge of TfL’s functions necessarily involves balancing the needs of one community with those of other groups and communities protected by the Equality Act 2010.
TfL is about to launch the revised edition of Understanding Diverse Communities, which is intended to assist TfL staff in ensuring that the design and delivery of transport services best serves London’s diverse communities.

Ride-hailing Apps (6)

David Kurten: What are the names of the ride-hailing app operators licenced by TfL, and how many drivers and vehicles are licensed to each one?

The Mayor: Please refer to my response to Mayor's Question 2019/14251.

TfL Supporting the Independence of Those with Mobility Issues

Jennette Arnold: What is TfL doing to make the journeys of those with mobility issues easier, thus supporting their independence?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is investing heavily to ensure London’s transport network is accessible for everyone. This includes delivering the largest boost to accessibility in the Tube’s history. This will increase the number of step free stations to 90 by 2020, meaning that more than a third of the Underground network will be step-free.
When it is opened, all Elizabeth line stations will be entirely step free from street to platform, including at some of London’s key locations like Tottenham Court Road, Whitechapel and Moorgate.
Alongside its step free programme, TfL is investing in innovative ways of making the public transport network more accessible, including improving online tools and providing open data sources, such as sharing the number of steps between stations.
TfL has also launched a number of initiatives to encourage considerate customer behaviour, including ‘please offer me a seat’ badges and the ‘Look Up’ campaign.
TfL continues to provide the current ‘turn-up-and-go’ service at all TfL-operated stations, and at additional stations where National Rail services are devolved to TfL, and provides real-time step free access updates.
On the road network, all of TfL’s 9,000 buses are low-floor wheelchair accessible and fitted with ramps, which are checked daily to ensure they are working. Almost all bus stops are also wheelchair accessible. In addition, all 22,000 London taxis are fitted with wheelchair ramps and TfL is working to enhance accessibility at taxi ranks across the capital.

City Airport

Andrew Boff: Do you share my concern that residents of Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Epping Forest, Hackney, Havering, Lambeth, Lewisham, Redbridge, Southwark and Waltham Forest will not be properly consulted over the London City Airport Master Plan?

The Mayor: It is essential that London City Airport consults widely on its Master Plan, given the broad area over which its noise impacts are experienced. I have asked my officers to find out from the airport the geographical scope of its consultation exercise and to relay our concern that it should be engaging with all those communities affected by the airport’s operations today and in the future.

Air Conditioning on the Tube (2)

Keith Prince: For all the Tube lines that don’t have air-conditioned trains, what is the estimated date by which each line is expected to have them?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is introducing on-train air-conditioning as older trains are replaced.
The entire 1973 Piccadilly line fleet will be replaced, with 94 state-of-the-art, air-conditioned trains starting to arrive in passenger service from 2024.
70 new air-conditioned high-capacity trains will serve the Elizabeth line when it launches.
Subject to funding being identified, TfL would next look to replace the Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo & City line trains with new generation, air-conditioned trains during the 2030s.
With approximately a 40-year life span, the remaining trains on the Jubilee, Northern and Victoria lines have longer remaining lives. TfL would expect to renew the Jubilee and Northern line stock in the late 2030s, and the Victoria line stock in the early 2050s.
In the meantime, TfL has been implementing a long-term programme to reduce temperatures and make customer journeys more comfortable. TfL has removed heat from its station and tunnel environment by installing new cooling solutions, and has upgraded and installed new ventilation fans at a number of stations across the network.

Tube dust (4)

Caroline Russell: What assessment has been made of the effectiveness of current tube tunnel cleaning methods?

The Mayor: It is very challenging to determine the impact of different cleaning methodologies on an operational network, as dust levels are impacted by a number of factors. These include usage, maintenance activities and connections with other Tube lines.
Transport for London’s (TfL’s) current cleaning regime is effective in ensuring that London Underground operates well within the Health and Safety Executive’s maximum limit for respirable dust, as is confirmed by regular monitoring. TfL is also looking for new ways to improve the effectiveness of its cleaning regime.
TfL is carrying out further work in order to better understand the impact of different cleaning methodologies. This includes assessing the impact of capturing dust at source during welding and cutting operations, and using ventilation to physically clear dust. While this work is ongoing, initial results are expected by the end of 2019. The most effective cleaning methodologies currently being trialled will be incorporated into TfL’s cleaning regime.

Tube dust (2)

Caroline Russell: What does the Transport for London (TfL) cleaning regime of tube tunnels entail and is this regime applied to the whole tunnel system equally?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) spends around £60m per annum cleaning its trains, stations and tunnels to ensure dust and particles are kept to an absolute minimum.
TfL’s Deep Tube tunnel cleaning regime includes the removal of all refuse, litter and waste material (e.g. paper, dust, grease) from the surfaces within the tunnels, cross-passages and adjoining areas. This is manually carried out, by the use of brushes, scrapers and filtered vacuum cleaners.
All London Underground tunnels are frequently inspected, and marked in terms of cleanliness. Sections which score lower in terms of cleanliness during these regular inspections are cleaned more frequently.
In addition, new cleaning methods are currently being trialled, the most effective of which will be incorporated into TfL’s cleaning regime.

Santander cycle hire scheme

Caroline Pidgeon: Do you have any plans to extend the Santander cycle hire scheme before May 2020?

The Mayor: I am committed to continuing to improve and develop the Santander Cycles scheme, including looking at opportunities for new docking stations as part of new cycle routes. Transport for London (TfL) has carried out some preliminary work to identify where docking stations could be located along the route of its new Cycleway 4. I have asked TfL to work with the London Borough of Southwark to develop detailed plans on the extension of the scheme into the Rotherhithe Peninsula.
TfL also continues to work with London Boroughs to identify demand at docking stations to ensure they are situated in the most useful areas.

Tube dust (1)

Caroline Russell: What specific actions have been taken by Transport for London (TfL) in response to the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution (COMEAP) report, Particulate air pollution on London Underground: health effects, published on 9 January 2019?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has taken a number of actions following the publication of this report.
TfL has improved its monitoring regime by expanding its network wide sampling. Dust samples are also now being preserved by TfL’s principal occupational hygiene contractor, and will be made available to research establishments on request. In addition, future dust monitoring will also measure dust in PM 10 and 2.5 fractions, to enable London Underground to be included in wider toxicity studies at low cost.
TfL is also investing in new technology to ensure more accurate dust monitoring. This includes recommissioning two air quality monitors, which allow for long term monitoring of dust levels. TfL is also investing in new photo-optical monitoring equipment, which allow more accurate measurement of heavy dust (rail dust is very dense due to the metal content).
Following the research recommendations within the report, TfL is currently funding two studies with leading universities to assess any hitherto unidentified health effects of underground dust exposures.
Alongside this additional research, TfL spends around £60m per annum cleaning its trains, stations and tunnels to ensure dust and particles are kept to an absolute minimum. New cleaning methods are currently being trialled the most effective of which will be incorporated into TfL’s cleaning regime.

Electric Airplanes

Joanne McCartney: A constituent has asked me to ask you the following questions:
Can the Mayor make it plain that any proposals to increase airport capacity in the London region (Deriving from additional runways, extra terminal or apron capacity, air traffic control regulations or improvements to surface access) should only be permitted if that increased capacity in passenger numbers and air transport movements only be provided by hybrid gas turbine/electric or all-electric aircraft.


Can the Mayor, through membership of the C40 and other organisations, urge other cities, worldwide, to take a similar position and urge their respective governments to give them full support

The Mayor: I have been clear that the aviation sector must fully address its environmental impacts, as set out in my aviation policy (T8) in the draft London Plan. I welcome the developments in new technology, which have the potential to significantly reduce those impacts, albeit recognising that the technologies described are not yet ready for commercial deployment.
The responsibility for securing a cleaner, greener future for aviation lies ultimately lies with Government. It's draft Aviation 2050 strategy was deeply disappointing in its failure to set out a comprehensive, credible long-term plan for addressing its environmental impacts and my response to its consultation highlighted this.
I will continue to push for the industry to reduce its environmental impacts and call on the sector itself, as well as a range of other local, national and international actors, to play their part in securing this.

healthy streets approach

Onkar Sahota: How much has TfL spent on Healthy Streets programmes in each year since the initiative began?

The Mayor: Transport for London spent £199m in 2017/18 and £225m in 2018/19 on its Healthy Streets portfolio.

Jacobs Report (2)

David Kurten: Who were the consultants that got it so wrong on the cost and impact of the effect of £65,000 electric cabs on taxi drivers. Has TfL questioned them over it, and if not, why not?

The Mayor: Jacobs completed the Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) for the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in 2014 using the best available evidence to them at the time. However the assessment was carried out before the exact cost of the Zero Emissions Capable (ZEC) taxi was known.
In the IIA, Jacobs noted that the high cost of a new ZEC, which was estimated at around £40,000 at the time, combined with a high proportion of drivers over the age of 50 meant that there would be a risk, even with mitigations, of an exit of drivers and vehicles from the market.
Financial support in the form of grants and a delicensing fund were put forward as mitigations. Transport for London (TfL) has recently restructured the delicensing scheme to significantly increase payments available to those who delicense their older, more polluting vehicles earlier. The enhanced scheme has had high levels of take up.
Please also see my response to Mayor's Question 2019/12074.